American society is the most violent of any nation in the industrialized world. Nothing we do, from administrating the world’s largest prison system to militarizing our police, seems to help. Dr. James Gilligan argues that childhood abuse, and the shame it engenders, is the engine that fuels America’s deadliest epidemic. This abuse and shame, he argues, fosters a dangerous numbness that breeds a deep self-loathing and inchoate rage. It is only by understanding the causes of our national epidemic, and addressing those causes, that we will have any hope of stemming the nihilistic violence that grips American society. Dr. Gilligan grounds his writing not only in case studies of the violent patients he works with, but Greek myths and Shakespeare.
Dr. James Gilligan is a professor of Clinical Psychiatry at New York University. Formerly, he served as the director of the Center for the Study of Violence at Harvard Medical School and the director of the Bridgewater State Hospital for the criminally insane in Massachusetts. He is the author of Violence: Our Deadly Epidemic and Its Causes, and Holding a Mirror up to Nature: Shame, Guilt, and Violence in Shakespeare, which he co-authored with David A.J. Richards.
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Leave it to a shrink to make the claim only humans have a soul. Cant even prove there is such a thing but he wants everyone to believe only we can have one! Talk about ignorant!
Ryann Flynn
ðŸ§ðŸª 📱😘🔌🦸ðŸ™ðŸ‘‘😌🙊📟🪤🎱🕷ï¸ðŸ“€ðŸ’°ðŸ’°ðŸ’°ðŸ’°ðŸ’°ðŸ’°ðŸ’°ðŸŽ§ðŸ¥…📢👃🕶ï¸ðŸ§¤ðŸ«ðŸŒâ˜Žï¸ðŸŽ©ðŸ”‹ðŸ’ŽðŸ†ðŸ†ðŸ†ðŸ†ðŸ†ðŸ†ðŸ†ðŸ›µðŸ›µðŸ›µðŸ›µðŸ›µðŸ›µðŸ¦»ðŸ¦»ðŸ™‰ðŸŽ¬ðŸ“¹ðŸŽ“🪖
"This world and the other world"???
What other world? We only have one world.
Soul??? What evidence do you have of this? There is no "soul". THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE OF A SOUL. If there is a soul, then why would you think that animals do not have one. This is ridiculous!
You might talk about "psyche" as manifestation of a person's particular consciousness and perspective, but SOUL?
We have glorified war and violence in our society ever since the nation was born and increasingly so since the turn of the last century (1900s-2000s). Our heroes are warriors. The essence of manhood is to be a hero. Therefore in the USA to be a hero you must be a warrior.
What do warriors do?
They kill the enemy effectively.
Who is the enemy?
It is whichever scapegoat your perpetrator has selected to punish. Their enemy will be among the victims.
Our society treats people like dirt. We have a ruling elite, who do not give a rat's ass about anyone else.
With the assistance of our elites we have created a turbo-capitalist, work-harder, pseudo-meritocracy, where only work counts. The only thing better than work is to be a hero. Just being in the military is not enough anymore, you must have seen combat or you are taught to hold your manhood cheap. If you want to look at Freud, weapons have become our phalluses.
Decent people, who grew up in very good conditions are among your mass murderers.
Until we make it cooler and more important to grow a garden than to kill, to make something rather than be able to destroy, to protect our environment rather than to exploit it and to help people rather than to buy a fifth Porsche, we will have this mentality in our society.
The elite Oligarchs in the USA want to keep the lower class dumb and hold their feet to the fire so that they have a Favela that they can use as slaves and to scare the shit out of the Middle-class.
A guy like Elon Musk could solve the US housing crisis by using the interest off of one of his business deals. Jeff Bazos, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Steve Balmer, Michael Bloomberg, Jim Walton, Alice Walton, Rob Walton, Michael Dell, Phil Knight, Warren Buffet, Tim Cook, Charles Koch, Julia Koch, Len Blavanik, Stephen A. Schwarzman, John Franklyn Mars, Jacquiline Mars, Leonard Lauder, Miriam Adelson, Dan Gilbert, etc. They could all stop a ton of suffering in the USA, if they wanted to. Maybe if it was cool to do that they would. Maybe if you had to give everything back to the people, after you made your first 5 million, 10 million, 15 million, 20 million, 25 million, 30 million, 50 million things could be better?
It is not just the USA either. Look at China or Russia. Their billionaires are equally morally bereft.
You talk of Shakespeare's plays when most of your lower class cannot even read a newspaper!
The feeling of Deadness is caused by our focus on money and materialism, which is driven by not having the bases covered on basic human rights: Medical Insurance, Education, Transportation, Housing, Food, Clothing, Retirement. THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU ARE MISSING. THIS IS WHY PEOPLE ARE SO DESPERATE. DESPERATE PEOPLE DO DESPERATE THINGS!
When even well-educated people realize that they will never be able to achieve and they will never be heroes, they find a scapegoat to blame, dehumanize them and try to be warrior-heroes, by killing the enemy efficiently. The Oligarchs are unreachable, so their wrath falls on the society that has forsaken them.
You are right in saying that punishment will not deter violence or crime.
The US needs an attitude adjustment.
Most traumatized people will turn to drugs and alcohol to escape their suffering, but a few will become mass murders. We know all of this. No one gives a shit. That is why this culture persists in the USA.
How many times does the god of the bible use violence as a means to an end Chris?! Seriously, how many times?! "Immoral means cannot bring about moral ends." – MLK Jr
Violence solves nothing.
This s some BS. Humans r evil. Animals r nice. I hate christianity.
Making excuses for killers doesn't fly. Put a needle in him.
Maybe that's why Christ turned the other cheek.
Compassionate People like Chris Hedges are a gift to Humanity. God Bless them.ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™
Ohhhh man. This was just too short. Two more hours, at least!!
Incredible interview ðŸ™
So somehow, because Christ was killed by the Romans on the Cross, that's somehow his follower's fault. Got it.
Go AI the digital way too
Rejected by family at the age of seven placed in state run institutions were they continued the abuse first suffered at the hands of my dad, at t13 chose the streets as a safer place to live locked up at 15-16 lost control of my rage almost killed my cell mate was given a liquid cosh and thrown in a strip cell, what stopped me from becoming a homicidal maniac a simple old rasta in jail who took it upon himself to teach me how to read and write my own name using his bible.
Crucifixion was adopted by the Romans from the Assyrians of Sumer and Akkad Alexander the great brought it to Europe after his conquest of the Levant.
America is the most violent, dangerous country. In fact, every year, the US is listed as the greatest threat to world peace. Of course, sycophantic nationalists will demonize anyone who dares state the truth. America has spent billions of dollars trying to create the false narrative that it's the "moral" warrior for democracy. What a crock o' crap. America is an imperialist menace that threatens the world whenever the US sees fit. Praise! Glory!
This conversation affected me more than I expected.
F… the scourge of the earth,gone with them!
Lloyd Demause always knew this and also believed all wars have their origins in child abuse. I happen to agree, especially when I hear ordinary men with more power than they deserve, like policemen and politicians. Well brought up people don't strive for power, they express power in all kinds of nonviolent ways
I think a lot of the violence is based on the Christian religion. Remember Passover? We celebrate Passover? The infanticide of the firstborn innocent Egyptian children. We are taught it is okay to be a psycho sadist god and send angels of slaughter to kill children.
Remember the flood? We are taught to worship a genocidal god that drowns children, mothers, and fathers in a huge flood. We are taught that being is good.
Of all the ways this maniac could save our sorry asses from sin, he chooses child abuse. He chooses to have his son sadistically crucified as if this is a good thing.
How about hell? Those "dead" souls Dr. Gillian tried to bring to life are going to be sadistically burned and napalmed by the sadistic Christian god in hell for all eternity if they don't get "saved". We teach children that this sadist monster is a good being worthy to be worshipped and that his genocidal behavior and violence are all okay.
13/60 in the USA. Same thing in Toronto and London. Same proportion in violent crime. Greek myth is not the factor
This is nothing but laughable psychobabble nonsense. I’ve worked with the chronically homeless, mentally ill, drug addicted and criminal community for decades in different settings. Hospitals jails etc… while it is true that trauma causes a lot of this, the place where most people recover and stop their self destructive behaviors and destructive behaviors towards others is in jails and prisons. Most of us have experienced at least one serious trauma in life if not several. Inmates are not unique in this way. I myself an a survivor of child abuse and neglect so I totally understand that aspect. He is the typical doctor who sees the patients/inmates for 15 minutes a week or even 15 minutes a year, gets sucked into their often highly exaggerated dramatic sob stories, and thinks he knows it all. We’ve all had trauma by a certain age. Life is hard. We’ve all felt empty. Being an enabler and feeling sorry for them doesn’t help them. It actually makes them worse – much worse! and I’m saying this as a nurse that has a lot of compassion but I also see reality for what it is. A lot of people can act like they suddenly feel guilty when it’s convenient for them and they are getting something out of the situation like medications they prefer. People who had no empathy for others to the point that they are capable of raping or killing do NOT suddenly acquire empathy because the staff at a facility show them some kindness. To assume that this population has never been shown kindness before is incredibly naive and quite frankly ridiculous. From what I’ve observed during visiting hours (when the doctors and others are hiding in their offices and it’s only us nurses observing) they OFTEN have kind hearted people in their lives. They take advantage and ruin those relationships every single time. If I suddenly lost my job and my home I know at least 50 people who would let me couch surf until I got self sufficient again. Think about how bad you would have to treat your family and friends to not have anyone willing to risk helping you. This is complete nonsense. People recover when they want to or when either the rewards are so great or punishment so severe that the decision has almost been made for them. From what I have been told multiple times by the inmates themselves is it’s like “summer camp.†They actually like the structure. Respectfully, a lot of you commenters are not seeing the situation and the person for what it is and who exactly they are and because of this I truly have concerns for your safety because clearly you don’t get it and neither does this doctor. When I was young I was lucky to work with people who survived concentration camps as children. That’s about the ultimate trauma anyone could experience in life and yet every single one of them turned out to be a decent contributor to society. At some point we need to admit that we are getting a sharp rise in antisocial and narcissistic behaviors because society tolerates it! And because people like this man make excuses for it and explain it away.
Apologies for any spelling and grammar errors.
With how prisoners are maybe the death penalty is straight up redundant
China: WE TOLD YOU SO!!!!!
big pharma has a lot to do with this subject. you can not fix this problem with drugs. I have the answer ,but it will be a book. d.m. esq.
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.†Hell on Earth
😂
Get real. That's an excuse to justify the lack of your ability to deal with violence. In the US violence is rife because it stems from the top down. It is also underpinned by a few other factors but mainly the loss of moral conscience. From Ireland 🇮🇪
Glad to see he finally got off that Island.
"Only humans have a soul …" I've heard enough. Sorry Chris, this is over the red line for me.
Our culture is largely the law of the jungle..
The powerful and strong make the rules and dominate society.
The little people get stepped on.
There are many little people. Watch your back.
Fascinating..
I agree.
I've been around the world a few times and have visited other cultures.
Sure, exceptions exist..
But after meeting the children in these other cultures, you return here and can come to only one conclusion.
Something has gone terribly wrong here.
Thankyou for contact
Awesome interview – thank you for the hard work
In a word, narcissism, is ruining life for humanity and therefore all life on this planet. Childhood trauma and narcissism is the real pandemic. Edit: All animals have souls, not only humans.
What if history discloses events that were not really organic instances of violent behavior? Events that encouraged people to think gun control is the solution to violence and crime?
Commie Chris has no idea how to curb violence.
The religious nonsense this guy spews freaks me out. He is deluded.
One of the most insightful interviews I've seen on YouTube
Wrong , not only do animals have souls , atoms have souls and conciseness and even subatomic particles , for everything in existence is made of Consciousness and it is geometrical , your emotions are geometrical , they have their opposites for example , love hate . And atoms as well love and hate , if they love another atom , they bond making something bigger , and it goes from there up and up and up , the Planet as well has a Soul . What is soul , Soul is energetic body that makes the physicals body , soul or spirit moves first then you move , try moving without your conciseness starting the process , or the soul , you cant . Universe is like this as well , galaxies , planets , animals , plants , atoms , everything . Its just a matter of complexity or the Level of Soul or Spirit how high it is , obviously humans have higher Souls then animals , and animals higher then Plants and so on and so forth .
But the point is you are wrong , deeply wrong , its not only humans that have souls . Every single thing that is created and exist is made from soul , or spirit or energy . Every single thing .
The C.I..A is allocated 50 billion a year …..really? The Church and White overnight committees we're put in place to investigate the workings of the agency. Lol Conveniently fell back into the shadows,due to the 911 attacks. Now there is a shadow court to continue the abuse….throw due process to the me wind. Mission accomplished……..
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All of mainstream media should be sued for not covering people like Chris Hedges, its a crime against our American democracy.
thou shalt not murder. kill is a mistranslation. fishermen kill. lumberjacks kill. hunters kill, none necessarily murder.
American violence can be seen in old westerns from the 50's, 60's and films like Dog day afternoon, Dirty Harry, etc. Where we see a steady rise of violence from then to the 70's . Where films were designated as PG and Adult in cinemas and strictly enforced then in the 70's and 80's we saw a liberation that I believe saw an increase in violence.
"Civilizing Torture: An American Tradition" by W. Fitzhugh Brundage 2018
American culture is inherited from the British.
A Very British Way of Torture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4sSGd2w_rk
Therefore, cultural right is human right. Right is right. It can never be wrong.
I agree that gun violence is the highest degree over there but I grew up in Britain and believe that Britain carries a violent streak that is the envy of the world. These people genuinely believe that through violence will lead to Valhalla. That detritus culture which mostly resides in high security prisons justify there crimes by quoting the Bible. Violence upon men in Britain is disturbing and the criminal justice system cannot cope with this phenomena. The incidence of youth crime especially knife crime in Britain is epidemic making most people lock their doors and squeal for state enforcement. This culture I believe is nothing new but the causation is a weird fusion between Bible interpretation and the desire for status predominantly within young men. Pimping women and children and abuse of animals is the soft end of violence. Until man can harness it's obsession with seeking superiority over another the violence will escalate to a point where it becomes acceptable to the culture and the government will cease. I've interviewed ex cons and they want total anarchy with freedom to express this tendancy. The victims being blamed for crime are becoming increasingly trapped and powerless to halt the relentless cycle of abuse carried out on women, children, the elderly, the disabled and animals. Violence against single people is increasingly common who tend to become isolated. The government will eventually turn to world war and a cure for blood letting and alleviating the perceived threat from young men who rule the world in their myopic fantasy. Age can be a leveller and childless coupling is only a temporary measure. Until empires fall and the state enforces civility and less traditional attitudes are promoted then the violence will continue and becoming the only mantra to the legacy which is of the dominant species. Biblical attitudes have done tremendous damage to the psyche of man and violence being the desired aim of life. Suffering will be its damnation.
Chris Hedge is a true humanbeing a man with integrity, morals, ethics and values. Something that is lacking in the political leaders in USA . It's all about money and power. Not knowing that power belongs to The Most High God, The Creator of Heaven and Earth. USA judgement is assured just a matter of time.
USA is the most violent country in the world. That nation was built by the sword and by the sword it shall fall its just a matter of time
What a shame, one of americas greatest voices against corruption, crime, thief and violence only received 49 thousand views in eight months. It really makes a clear statement that people are so detached, wilfully ignorant or just plain stupid. Chris tells the truth which apparently obtuse population doesn’t want to hear.
The fall of the US will not be by some external military war.
It will be due to some collapsed economic crisis. The “entitled†mentality of American culture that has been generationally injected into our psyche and privileged Americanism cultural attitude in our material/possessions mentality, which is on display every year on “Black Friday†at any Walmart by the aggressive physical behavior to get that flat screen tv or whatever it may be.
Now imagine the societal breakdown when there is no supply chain and a collapse dollar/economy and people start losing their homes (foreclosures), vehicles (repos), savings, jobs, empty shelves.
With over 800 million guns in public hands it will make “Black Fridayâ€like Easter Sunday. The unleash of crime, criminals, panic, anger of losing their valued material possessions and the opportunities to go out and take what you want from anyone or any business.
We have already seen a glimpse of this with these mob flask grab and steal. Imagine it all with guns and people protecting their property.
The societal breakdown would be an enormous dysfunctional violent chaos/anarchy especially in cities and suburbia.